County's services covered in short term

By Anne Danahy

- adanahy@centredaily.com

BELLEFONTE — Centre County could get by a month or two without state money, but after that it would have to look at borrowing money and cutting programs, county commissioners said Tuesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gov. Ed Rendell, center, failed to reach a deal with Republicans and pass a state budget by the start of the fiscal year. Rendell warned the sides could be weeks away from an agreement.

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Would you support a state sales or income tax increase to make up the budget shortfall?

The state’s 2009-10 fiscal year starts today, without Gov. Ed Rendell and the General Assembly reaching an agreement on a state budget. Centre County and various agencies are bracing themselves to do without state money temporarily, and for the possibility of major cuts in funding in whatever budget is eventually adopted.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Jon Eich said Tuesday that the county can continue operating as normal for about 30 to 40 business days without state money. After that, it might need to look at borrowing money.

“The question is whether both sides are going to dig in their heels and demand that their position be adopted or are they going to be working toward compromise,” Eich said, referring to the negotiations between Rendell and legislators.

Commissioner Steve Dershem said without a state budget, the county will have to look at all its options, including cutting programs.

“If the state doesn’t provide us with income, how else are we going to do it?” Dershem said.

Dershem said that while it’s premature to say specifically what would get cut if the budget stalemate drags on, the county would have to look at everything including voluntary unpaid days off, four-day workweeks for some staff and reducing programs.

Rendell said Tuesday a state budget deal was unlikely to be hammered out this week or next. He is seeking a combination of program cuts and a tax increase to deal with the $3.2 billion deficit the state is facing. Republicans in the General Assembly want to close the deficits solely with cuts.

If the impasse continues, state employees will receive only partial pay later in July, and could have their pay withheld entirely beyond that.

Rendell said 10 banks and credit unions have agreed to help the 69,000 state employees who may soon have payless paydays by giving them loans or lines of credit.

That includes the 653 employees at the State Correctional Institution at Rock-view, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Susan Bensinger.

PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick said road projects handled by contractors that are already under construction will continue today at least. But beyond that, he added, “we continue to assess the impacts.”

Even after a budget does get passed, cuts could be deep.

Rendell has proposed cutting Penn State’s funding 13 percent to $277.5 million. Republicans in the Senate want the university to get $334.2 million — close to the $338 million it got this year. Penn State trustees are slated to approve a budget and set tuition at their July 10 meeting, although they may not know how much money the state plans to chip in.

School districts have already been passing their budgets without knowing exactly what they’ll be getting from the state.

Many programs and departments would see their state funding slashed under Rendell’s latest proposal. Eich said that could affect various services administered by the county, including mental health services, human services that support food banks, probation and parole and West Nile virus control efforts.

The county is required to run some programs, but other services are optional. County Administrator Tim Boyde said some Children and Youth Services and Drug and Alcohol programs, for example, are not required.

He said the administration will be meeting with department heads to look for ways to “triage those services.”

He said it seems like logic could prevail and a state budget will get passed soon, but if negotiations are protracted there will be cuts that are “deep to the bone.”